Process of hydrogenating unsaturated fatty material.



J. C. C. HOEHN.

PROCESS OF HYDROGENATING UNSATURATED FATTY MATERiAL.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. I3. 914.

1,189 817. Patented July 1, 1916.

314 van C01 Wit new J H0871;

UNITED S PA OCE;

JOHN CURTIS CHEIALIER H'OEHN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PROCESS OF HYDROGENATING UNSATURATED FATTY MATERIAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Application flled March 13,1914. Serial No. 824,439.

To all whom it may c'oncer'it:

Be it known that I, JOHN C. C. HOEHN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements'in Processes ofHydrogenating Unsaturated Fatty Material, of

which the following is a specificati'ion.

My invention relates to improvements in processes of hydrogenatingunsaturated fatty material, such as fatty acids or their glycerids, 'toconvert the same into corresponding saturated compounds.

An important'object ofth invention is to provide .a process of the abovementioned character, whereby the hydrogen will be absorbed by the fattymaterial, in a quick and thorough nianner, without the aid of large,e'xpensivefor complicated apparatus.

In my copending application for process of and apparatus forhydrogenation of oils, Serial 'No. 782,491, filed August. 1, 1913, Idisclosed a process ofhydrogenating un saturated fatty material, whichconsisted generally in causing fatty material, in the for m of a filmwith a finely dividedcatalytic agent suspended therewith, to flow ortravel over an inactive support, in the presence of an atmosphere contziining'hydrogen. By causing the fatty material to travel in the form ofa film the exposed area of the same was increased. It was not known, as

far as I am aware, that hydrogen would be readily absorbed bythe fattymaterial lla\'- ing a finely divided catalytic agent in suspensiontherein when in the form of a body or mass, having a substantial depth,witle out the employment of violent agitation.

My prior process was also devised to eliminate violent agitationi of thefatty material or oil, which is employed to increase the area. of thefatty material or oil exposed to the action of the'hydrogen. Violentagita tion of the fatty material or il. however, possesses markeddisadvantages. cluefamong presence of suitable heat and pressure. The

Patented July 4, 1916.

fatty material or oil is held within an inactive receptacleand gentlyflows or-is. gently agitated or stirred therein, sulliciently tothoroughly mix the saturated fatty material or oil with the unsaturatedmaterial or oil contained therein.- Thisprocess is based' upon the wellknown fact that fatty material or oil willabsorb the hydroge n in aninverse ratio to the degree of saturation of the same by the hydrogen.Hence, If the mass or body of the fatty material has a substantialdepth, say from one to three inches, and the fatty material is gentlyagitated,,the hydrogen will be quickly and thoroughly absorbed by thefatty material oroil, the hydrogen penetrating the depth of the mass,which is aided by the stirring of the same. In my improved process,hesame surface or area of the fatty material or oil is exposed to theaction of the hydrogen, as when the" same is in the form of a film, butby the mass .of fatty material having a substantial depth, the hydrogencontinues to be'absorbed more rapidly and for a much longer time,

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specificationand'i'n which like numerals are employed "to designate: like partsflll'fillgllOllll the same, Figure 1. is a partly diagrammatic centrallongitudinal sectional view through apparatus within which my processmay be advantageously practised. and Fig. 2 is a similar view'of aslightly dill'erent form of such apparatus.

In the drawings. wherein for the purpose of illustrations is shownpreferred embodinu-nts of apparatuses for practising myproress. thenumeral 5 (Fig. 1) designates an out r shell. preferably horizontall}arranged and provided' with a removable top or cover 6. This shell ispreferably air tight and capable of withstanding pressure above.atmospheric pressure. Connected with the eorer G is a hydrogen inletpipe 7, having a cut oil valve 8. while a hydrogen outlet pipe providedwith a cut off valve 10. is connected with the outer shell 5, near thebottom thereof. \rranged within the outer shell are preferablyhorizontally arranged oil holding pans ll, the upper portions of whichare entirely open, said pans having a substantial depth. as shown. Thefatty material or oil 'to be treated is held within these pans. wherebya relatively large area or upper surface of the oil is exposed to theatmosphere containing hydrogen within the shell 5, said oil not being inthe form of a film, but in the form of a lake or mass,

the purpose ofmixing the saturated portion of the oil with theunsaturated poi-hon thereof, such stirring or agitating not amounting tovi'o'lentagitation whereby hy-- drogen bubbles will form 'within orthrough -the fatty material or oil; To accomplish The pipe 18 extendsdownwardly and disthis,'the oil is originally fed, (Fig. 1) into thelowermost pan 11 through a pipe 12, provided with a'cut off valve 13.Connected with the opposite end of the lowermost pan ,is a pipe 14:,leading into the upper portion thereof and spaced a substantial distancefrom the bottom-of this pan. The oil within the lowermost pan iswithdrawn through the pipe-14, and since this pipe leads into the upperportion of the pan it is obvious that the upper or saturated portion ofthe oil will be removed therefrom, a predetermined depth of the oilalways remaining within the-pan.- The pipe 14' is connected with thecorresponding end of the next upper pa n 11, adjacent the bottomthereof, discharging the oil therein at a point spaced a substantialdistance below theexposed surface of the oil contained within theintermediate pan 11. 1"e oil is circulatedupwardly through tlie pipeby'a pump 1'5,

of any we'll known or preferred type, connected in the pipe 1 4,-asshown. In a simi, lar manner, a pipe 16' connected with the opposite endof the intermediate pan, with draws oil from the upper portion thereof,and. discharges the same into the bottom of the uppermost pan 11 at apoint spaced a substantial distance from the upperexposed surface of theoil. A pump 17 is connected in the pipe 16, to cause the ,oilto travelupwardly therein. The oil in the uppermost pan 11 discharges from theopposite end of the pan through'a depending pipe 18, connected with thepan 11 near the upper portion thereof, whereby the oilis withdrawn fromthe upper exposed surface of the oil.

charges the oil into one end of the lowermost pans 11, preferably belowthe exposed urface of the oil therein. The saturated oil may bewithdrawn from each of the pans through outlet 'means' 19, preferablyarranged adjacent the bottom of each pan. The oil is preferably heatedduring the treatment, which inay be accomplished by steam heating coils20 preferably horizontally arranged within the main shell and disposedbelow and adjacent the pans 11.

in the forin of apparatus shown in Fig. 2, thenunural ll designates anair tight preferably horizontal outer shell. provided with hydr geninlet and outlet 23 and 23. Ar-

ranged'preferably horizontally within the outer shell 21 inspacedsuperposed relation, are pans 24, identical with the pans 11.Steam heating coils 25 are employed. The saturated oilmay be withdrawnfrom each of the pans 24 through outlet means 2G. The oil to be treatedis fed through an up per inlet pipe 27,- discharging into the upperportion of one end of the uppermost, pan 21,1as shown. The oil" iswithdrawn from the opposite end of the uppermost pan through adownwardly extending pipe 28,. leading into the-upper portion of theuppermost pan, wherebythe oil at the upper ex-' posed surface of 'themass will pass through the pipe 28.- This pipe is provided with cut of?valve 29. The lower end of-the pipe 28 passes into one end of theintermediate pan 21, adjacent the bottom thereof, where by oilissupplied into the pan. -24 at a substantial distance fromthe upperexposed surface of the oil therein; Connected with is :1 dependingpipe30, leading into such pan adjacent its upper portion for withdrawingoil from the upper exposed surface thereof, such pipe discharging intoone end of the lowermost pan 24, 'to feed theoih the opposite end of theintermediate pan 24 therein at a point spaced a substantial dis ta'n'cefrom the upperexposed surface of'the oil therein. The pipe 30 isprovidedwith a cut oflvalve 31, as showna Areturn pipe .32;

is connected with vthe opposite epdiof the lowermostpan 24, and l'eadsintofthe upper portion thereof towi-thdraw oil fromthe upper exposedsurface of the oil, such pipe 32 discl'iarging the oil: into oneend ofthe uppermost pan 24-, below the upper exposed surface of the oiltherein; A pump'flil of any well known or preferred type, is connectedin the pipe 32 and. serves to cause the oil, to travelupwardly throughthis pipe.

In the nacticc of my process, in connection' with the fo'rnrof apparatusshown in Fig. 1, th hydrogcn supply being originally cutoff, theoil'hax'in g a finely divided (atalytic agent mixedtherewith is fedthrough pipe 12 into the lowermost pan 11. and withdrawn therefrom byvthe pumps 15 and 17, until all of the pans are filled to a. prcdetenmined depth, at whicht-ime oil from the uppern|ost pair will begin=toreturn through pipe 18 into the lowermost pan. The supply of oil is thencut off, while, pumps 15 and 17 are allowed torontinue to operate. Thesepumps cause a gentle stirring or agitating of the oil in each pan. suchoil being withdrawn from t-lu-.iippcr exposed surface of the mass ineach. pan. and fed into the successive pan adjacent the bottom thereofat a point spaced a 1 ubstantial distance from the upper exposed surfareof the mass. In this manm-ra portion of the oil is kept in continuousilW'HltliiOlL the same being withdrawn from the surfacioflhc oil in thepan the process are the and returned to the same adjacent the bottomthero In this form of apparatus, the oil is force to travel upwardlythrough the pipes 14 and 16, from oneolower pan to the successive -.pperpan. The steam heating coils 20 are operated to maintain the temperaturein'the shell 5 at the desired degree, which is preferably from 150 to160" (3., although this temperature may be widely varied. The hydrogenmay now be supplied into the shell 5. A pressure of approximately 100pounds to the square inch is preferably maintained within the shellduring the operation of the process, but such pressure may be widelyvaried, as may be found advantageous. It is thus seen that the masses orlakes of oil having a subtsantial depth, with the finely dividedcatalytic agent mixed or suspended therein, is subjected to the actionof the hydrogen, while the same is being gently stirred or agitated tothoroughly mix the saturated portion of the oil with the unsaturatedortion, whereby the hydrogen will be rearily absorbed by the oil havinga large exposed area and will pgnetrate the depth of the masses of oilto readily absorbed by the unsaturated portion thereof. In this mannerthe absorption of the hydrogen by the oil is accomplished more quicklyand for a prolonged period. In the practice of the process in my form ofapparatus shown in Fig. 2, the steps of same, except that the oil ismade to circulate downwardly from one pan to the other, such oil beingfinally returned from the lowermost pan to the uppermost.

It is to he understood that the form of my invention, herewith shown anddescribed is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and thatvarious changes in the same may be resorted to without departing fromthe spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoinedclaims.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. The process of hydrogenatingoils, fats, fatty acids, 'etc., containing unsaturated constituents,which consists in ex osing a large surface area of the materia carryingin suspension a finely divided catalytic agent on having a substantialdepth,-to the action of hydrogen, while moving the material withoutviolent agitation.

2. The process of hydrogenating oils, fats, fatty acids, etc.,containingunsaturated fatty constituents, which consists in exposing alarge surface area of the material carrying in suspension a finelydivided catalytic agent and having a substantial depth, to the action ofhydrogen, and withdrawing a portion of the material to cause thematerial to move without violent agitation.

3. The process of hydrogenating oils, fats,

fatty acids, etc., containing ultsaturating fatty constituents, whichconsists in exposing a large surface area of the material carrymg insuspension a finely divided cats lytic agent and having a substantialdepth, to the action of hydrogen, and Withdrawin the saturatedconstituents from the expose surface of the material.

4. The process of hydrogenating oil. fats, fatty acids, etc..containingunsaturated fatty constituents, which consists in exposing a.

larg surface area of the material arrying in suspension :1 finelydivided catalytic agent and having a substantial depth. to the action ofhydrogen, in the presence of suitable heat and pressure, and circulatinga portion df the material by withdrawing the same from the exposedsurface thereof and introducing it into the material near the bottomthereof.

The process of hydrogcnating oils, fats, fatty acids, etc., containingunsaturated fatty constituents, which consists in placing the materialcarrying in suspension a finely divided catalytic agent into open panswhereby a large surface area of the material is exposed and the materialhas a substantial depth, subje -l ne' the large exposed surface area ofmaterial to the action of hydrogen in the presence of suitable heat andpressure, and withdrawing the material from one pan and supplying thesame to another p 6. The process of hydrogenating fatty materialcontaining unsaturated fatty constituents, which consists in exposinglarge surface areas of supported and relatively deep flowing bodies ofthe material carrying in suspension a finely divided catalytic agent, tothe action of an atmosphere containing hydrogen.

7. The process of hydrogenating oils, fats, fatty acids, etc.,containing unsaturated fatty constituents, which consists in subjectinga mass of the material having a depth substantially greater than a filmto the action of an atmosphere of hydrogen under pressure and in theresence of heat and a finely divided catalytic agent, subjecting the amass to a gentle circulating movement without violent agitation,withdrawing the saturated constituents from surface of the material, andfeeding the oil or the like containing more or less unsaturated fattyconstituents into the lower portion of the mass at a point spaced asubstantial distance from the upper' exposed surface thereof. I

In testimony whereof I at'fix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN CURTIS CHEYALIER HOEIIN. \Vitnesses:

(lius. K. Pnss'ron, JonN Hours.

the upper exposed

